Jersey’s senior U.S. Senator wants the U.S Surgeon General to investigate the possible link between sugary drinks and obesity.

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Senator Frank Lautenberg, along with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden have sent a letter to Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, asking her to look into the situation, and analyze how policies regarding sugary beverages could help to curb the obesity epidemic across the country.

Senator Lautenberg points out “as America’s waistline has expanded, so too has our access to sugary drinks, Doctors and public health experts recommend limiting and reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, especially in children, but kids and adults drink twice the amount of soda that they did three decades ago.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 million people are overweight or obese in America, and obesity kills more than 110 thousand people every year in this country.

Today’s letter follows-up on Senator Lautenberg’s previous effort to have the federal government investigate the impact of sugary beverages on Americans’ health and obesity.  Lautenberg filed an amendment to the Farm Bill requiring a study, but it was not included in the bill approved in the Senate earlier this summer.

The letter also comes as the New York City Board of Health votes today on a proposal to bar sales of sodas and other sugary drinks in more than 16 ounce cups or bottles, in movie theaters, restaurants and other public areas.

 

 

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